Following their impressive victory over Sourcenet, Wanderers were struggling
for numbers for the tough match against Ashridge Park's Saturday side. Richard Scott and Andy Corless were nursing injuries,
while Peter Killingworth and Chris Orbell were absent.
The late arrivals of Paul Martin and Dave Griffiths meant that Wokingham were
grateful to the presence of former Wanderer Tom Mansfield, and Ashridge's Adam Shoosmith.
Wanderers displayed a pleasing combination of accurate passing and dogged
determination in the first half. Mansfield and Chris Hillsdon were particularly resolute in defence, with Nick Harding
building on his impressive debut.
In the first half chances fell the way of Shoosmith and Tom Soane as Wanderers
looked more than capable of breaking the deadlock. An injury to Phil Soane meant that Wokingham's attacking became more
conservative as the game approached half-time.
It was harsh on Wanderers when Ashridge opened the scoring three minutes before
the interval. A corner from Ashridge's right, was met with a far post header. This was particularly hard on the
impressive Mansfield, who had lost his man.
The second half saw Ashridge score twice more, as Harding was left exposed
at the back. The Wanderers' stopper's performance was a huge positive though, and he was largely responsible for the
respectable scoreline.
Wokingham struggled to create any real chances in
the second half, though Paul Martin and Darren Wakley combined to cross for Dave Griffiths, who saw a header saved at the
far post.
There was disappointment at the final whistle, as circumstances
did not allow any experimentation or rotation. Wanderers can be proud of their performance, particularly in the first
half, when they matched their impressive opponents.
SQUAD: Nick Harding, Darren Wakley, Phil Soane, Dave Griffiths, Chris
Hillsdon, Tom Mansfield, Jamie Ryall, Tom Soane, Anthony Prior, Paul Martin, Ian Griffiths and Steve Martin.
